“Children need powerful knowledge to understand and interpret the world. Without it they remain dependent upon those who have it,” Michael Young

Plymstock School is a vibrant, diverse, inclusive and ambitious community where staff and students, in partnership with their parents and carers, work towards our vision of achieving excellence through our curriculum and culture. This vision is aimed at giving every individual the best chance to thrive.

We strive to provide an environment full of integrity and knowledge, where students are dedicated to their work and are proud of what they do and who they are. A community full of students who think carefully and do things well.

Our ambition is to empower our young people, through education, to have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in life and make a positive difference to their communities. Our school culture is underpinned by our core values of ‘be kind, work hard and aim high’.

Our staff are the people who offer powerful and shared knowledge to the children who attend Plymstock School. That knowledge comes from centuries of learning, and from the research of universities and subject associations. It is powerful because it enables children to interpret and control the world. It is shared because all our children should be exposed to it. It is only fair and just that this should be so.

By moving along the path of our broad, balanced and ambitious academic and behaviour curriculum, students develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to pursue their personal and career ambitions. Our curriculum prepares our young people for the demands and challenges of our multicultural society, to be equipped for life in modern Britain and beyond. This progression is underpinned by a sharp focus on reading. Students read daily and are supported to develop a love of reading while accessing high quality and challenging literature. Where students find reading challenging, we provide them with the support needed to become competent and engaged readers.

We set clear rules for young people to teach them how to secure every benefit of a good education, to control their impulses, delay gratification, and exert self-discipline, often in the face of peer social norms that are powerful. We believe that students have the best opportunity to thrive within a framework of high expectations and clear routines to enable all students to consistently meet our school CORE expectations rooted in strong, respectful and positive relationships. Our pastoral care provision supports where students find it difficult to meet our CORE expectations. We endeavour to work in partnership with the student and the parent/carer to support.

Our academic and behaviour curriculum is also underpinned by a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. In addition, we offer cultural experiences beyond the school gates, including work experience, student leadership, trips and visits, and our annual Challenge Week programme enabling our young people to further develop their skills, knowledge and experiences.

Welcome to Plymstock School!

Stuart Koehler-Lewis

Headteacher